November 2010 – US $ to Turkish Lira exchange rate

1U.S. $ = 1.45 lira

1 Euro = 1.95 lira ( the rates will fluctuate just slightly )

US $ will move between 1.40 – 1.58lira.

Best place to change money in Turkey is anywhere outside the banks of airports. They charge ridiculous unnecessary commissions at the airport. In the city there are these free exchance offices , almost anywhere, where you get better value. That is where you get the best deal.

Traveller’s cheque is a bit difficult to cash , only certain main branches of banks will cash it, vendor’s will prefer credit card ; they will avoid American Express because of high commission rates; a number of them will accept visa or master like cash. But one gets better value by cash in a number of cases in grand bazaar, as this reduces the ( tax! ) costs of the vendor.

You can make majority of your payments in US $ or Euros in Turkey , needing local money Lira few times . You will need lira for museums, but a number of them do accept credit card ( ( including Hagia Sophia ( Ayasofya ) and Topkapi Palace ( The ticket of the Harem is sold seperately inside the palace, at the entrance of Harem ) , Basilica Cistern.

If you get a pin number for your credit card you can withdraw money from atm’s which are plenty , all over in Istanbul. In Turkey if you have a pin number you can also use it during a purchase.

In most cases in Turkey as if you were in the U.S. you pay pay in US dollar , or , as in a European Union you may pay in euro. At some places they give you a worse rate for foreign currency payment and you may lose money, so it is better to carry lira in such case.

About the author

All of the practical information you will find in these pages are based on my own experiences. An e-book version of these pages are at scribd.com , easy to find if you search with my name added.

I am a former photo-journalist of the first Turkish parents magazine; so the photos you at these pages are from my tours or my work. I realize some of these photos attract a number of travel agencies and I began watermarking them, and I am about to take legal action against those companies using my photographic works without my permission simply by copying them from my pages. But feel free to ask for some decent complimentary Istanbul photos to commemorate your Istanbul days. My photography works can be viewed online, look for “bitter almond photography” at facebook . Samples from my photoshop – photo manipulation works are at http://fotoyenileme.wordpress.com/

I have a bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences . I film documentary short movies; In 2007 International Istanbul Festival I began to appear in the short movie directors listings for the first time.